Beef & Bean Burrito

Serves 3:
Ingredients:

• ½ Tbsp Olive Oil
• ½ Cup Chopped Onion
• 1 tsp Minced Garlic
• 1 Cup Water
• 1 Can of Canned Beef(14 oz)
• 2 tsp Chili Powder
• 1 tsp Dried Leaf Oregano, Crumbled
• ½ tsp Ground Cumin
• ½ tsp Salt
• ¼ tsp Ground Pepper
• 1 Can Re-fried Beans (16 oz)
• 1 Can Enchilada Sauce (10 oz)
• 6 Flour Tortillas (8-inch, non-refrigerated) wrapped two at a time in foil
  

At Home:
The canned beef needs a little preparation. Pour meat onto a plate and rinse the congealed fat and liquids from the meat under running water. Using a fork or fingers, lightly shred the beef into bite size pieces. Watch for and remove any fat in the meat.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, sauté until onion softens.
Add water, chili powder, oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Add meat, re-fried beans and enchilada sauce. Heat thoroughly, stirring often. Add just enough water to make the mixture thin enough to pour and spread evenly on dehydrator trays.
Dehydrate at 125° for 8 – 10 hours. After about four hours in the dehydrator, break up any mixture that is stuck together with your fingers to expose pieces to more air circulation.
Divide dried mixture into three zip lock bags, each with two foil wrapped tortillas. Makes three 1-cup servings.
On the Trail:
Combine about 3/4 cup water with one cup dehydrated burrito mixture. Bring to a boil and continue cooking another minute or two. Remove from stove and place pot inside insulating cozy for ten minutes. Add a few tablespoons of additional hot water if necessary for a good texture.
Choose your favorite way to heat the two soft flour tortillas. A few clean twigs across the top of a pot of boiling water (already heating for the side dish) makes a nice steamed tortilla. Tortillas spread out on a clean forked stick directly over the fire works well but keeps you busy. Placing the tortilla foil on top of the rehydrating burrito meat with the tortillas on top of the foil is an easy way to soften the tortillas.
Spoon 1/2 of the re-hydrated mixture onto each tortilla; roll up and eat.
Additional Comments or Suggestions:
If you added too much water, you can dip the tortilla in the "stew" or tear up the tortilla to use like crackers in the "soup".
After trying out the dehydrated canned beef, you may want to replace the ground beef in some of your other recipes.
One serving with two tortillas and a small side of MEXICAN BEANS AND RICE makes a great meal that will have you looking for the Margarita!

Mexicaanse Beef & Rice

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup ground beef, dried
• ¼ cup combined bell peppers (assorted colors), onions, and tomatoes, dried
• ¼ cup black beans, dried
• ½ cup instant brown rice
• 1¼ cups water
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp cheese mix
• 1 tbsp instant dry milk
• 1 tbsp taco seasoning
  

Cheese Mix: The cheese mix for this backpacking recipe can be borrowed from a six ounce box of Back to Nature brand Spirals & White Cheddar Dinner or Annie’s Homegrown brand Bunny Pasta & Cheese. Look in the health foods section of your grocery store. These brands have no artificial preservatives, flavors, or colors. The cheese mix packet inside the box can be divided into three servings approximately 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp each. Use one third of the packet for this recipe and save the rest for other recipes. The macaroni can be saved for other meals as well. In a pinch, you could settle for the Kraft brand if you don’t mind a little artificial coloring, but the other brands taste better to me.


Instant Dry Milk: I use Nestle Nido brand instant whole dry milk instead of the easier to find instant low fat milk varieties. The extra calories from the higher fat content in whole milk provide more energy for my long distance backpacking trips. If you’re just out for the weekend, instant low fat milk works fine.


At Home:
For information about dehydrating ground beef and vegetables for this recipe, review the DEHYDRATING MEAT or DEHYDRATING VEGETABLES pages.
Combine ground beef, beans, vegetables, rice, and taco seasoning in a zip style plastic bag.
Combine cheese mix and instant dry milk in a 2 X 3 zip style plastic bag. (Bags can be found at craft stores)
Enclose the smaller bag in the larger bag, press out the air, and seal. You are ready to hit the trail.


On the Trail:
Add all ingredients except the cheese/milk mix to your pot with water. Allow contents to rehydrate for five to ten minutes.
Light stove, bring to a boil, and continue cooking with the lid on at medium to high heat for a minute or two. Don't stir rice while cooking. Leave it alone and the rice will turn out fluffy.
Place pot into insulating cozy. Wait ten minutes for the meal to continue rehydrating and cooking inside the cozy. Stir in contents of the cheese bag. Add a few spoonfuls of extra water if you want a saucier meal. Enjoy!


Optional Enhancements:
If you happen to have some tortilla chips handy, scoop your meal out of the pot with chips or crumble chips over your Mexican Beef & Rice.
I use a medley of green, red, yellow, and orange bell peppers for this recipe. If you desire a little fire in your Mexican Beef & Rice, by all means throw in a couple slices of dried jalapeños.

Apple Cobbler

Serves 4
Ingredients:

• 4 cups Apples
• 1 cup Self-Rising Flour
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 Tbsp Whole Egg Powder (the kind for baking with only)
• 1/3 cup Oil
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
  

At Home:
Cut and slice apples and sprinkle with lemon juice so they don't turn brown. DEHYDRATE APPLES
Make self rising flour by combining 1 cup of all purpose flour, ½ teaspoon salt and 1½ teaspoons baking powder.
Combine self rising flour, sugar and whole egg powder in a ziploc bag. Put cinnamon and dehydrated apples into separate ziplock bags. Pack oil in a leak proof container.
On the Trail:
Layer apples on bottom of pan for Outback Oven or reflector oven.
Add 3 tablespoons of water to flour/sugar/egg mixture and then sprinkle over apples. Drizzle oil over top of mixture and sprinkle with cinnamon.
Bake in Outback Oven for approximately 30 minutes or bake in reflector oven (cover baking pan with foil).

Dehydrating Fruit

Dehydrating fruit is easy and fun. Cut the fruit into small, equal-sized pieces; spread in a single layer on the dehydrator trays, and crank up the dehydrator. It takes from 6 to 36 hours to dry fruit, depending on the juiciness of the fruit, but the wait is worth it when you taste the final product.
Dehydrating fruit concentrates the natural sugars so your pineapples and bananas will taste extra sweet on the trail. Choose mature, firm fruits for the highest sugar and nutritional content, but avoid bruised or overripe fruit. When dehydrating fruits such as apples with the skins on, thoroughly wash and rinse the fruit to remove any wax and pesticides.
On the trail, you’ll maintain peak energy by snacking on dried fruit throughout the day. My recipes will give you simple ways to incorporate dehydrated fruit into your breakfasts, desserts, and trail mixes. Try cooking oatmeal with dried apples, raisins, and cinnamon, topped with crunchy granola for a quick-energy breakfast. I even slip pineapple and coconut into my recipe for Hawaiian Shrimp and Rice.
The range of drying times listed below for dehydrating fruit are what you could expect using an Excalibur Food Dehydrator. Factors such as humidity, the size and thickness of your fruit pieces, and the juiciness can all affect how fast fruit dries. Most fruit will be pliable or leathery when done, meaning you can bend it and it won’t break. You can easily tear a piece of dried fruit in half and if no moisture beads up on the inside and there is no stickiness on the outside, it’s done.
One of the features that I like about my Excalibur is its large capacity for dehydrating fruit- drying 30 pounds of Georgia peaches in one batch was no problem. I use the nine tray model which has 15 square feet of drying area. As an avid gardener, I load my Excalibur up when fruits and vegetables are in season.
Dehydrating fruit will fill your home with pleasant, fruity smells. If you are like me, you will get hungry and start snitching before the fruit is dry. Enjoy!


Dehydrating Apples

• Thoroughly wash apples to remove pesticides and waxes that may be present unless you plan to peel off the skin. Because the skins contain nutrients, I leave them on.
• You can core and slice apples into rings or cut them into whatever size pieces you like. I quarter the apples first and remove the core and stem with a sharp knife. I then cut the quarters into 1/8” slices.
• Dehydrate at 135° until pliable (7 – 15 hours).
• Because the flesh of apples turns a little brown when exposed to air (oxidation), some people dip their cut apples into a bath of water and sodium bisulfate or ascorbic acid for a couple of minutes before dehydrating. Treating apples with either of these anti-oxidants is safe and will prevent the fruit from browning. I am not bothered by the slightly darker color of my apples, so I skip the dip.
  

Approximately two processed medium apples will fit on one Excalibur Dehydrator tray.

Cinnamon Biscuits

Ingredients:

• 1 Can Buttery Flaky Biscuits
• Sugar
• Cinnamon
• Aluminum Foil
  

At Home:
Keep canned biscuits cool by placing in plastic bag. Put this bag and ice or ice pack in another bag to keep cool. Pack sugar and cinnamon in a separate bag.
On the Trail:
Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on one layer of foil and place biscuits on foil.
Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on top of biscuits.
Enclose biscuits with another layer of foil on top.
Place on rack over fire or on hot rock in coals. Or place on bed of coals. Turn over couple of times to keep from burning. Check for done. Cooking varies with fire, rack, rock, coals and other factors. ENJOY.. They are yummy.

Ramen Noodles Recipes

With my ramen noodles recipes, you can throw away the “flavor” packet that comes in the package. Unless, of course, you enjoy a strong dose of salt, monosodium glutamate, sugar, hydrolyzed this and that, and whatever the heck disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate are. I’ll show you how to wiggle some ramen noodles into your backpacking meals without subjecting your body to a chemistry experiment.
I use ½ cube of vegetable bouillon in my Vegetarian Ramen Noodles recipe. The Organic Gourmet™ brand vegetable bouillon (from health foods stores) is low in sodium and has no MSG or mystery chemicals. Dehydrated sauerkraut adds a distinctive flavor to my Ramen Noodles & Kraut recipe. Last, but not least, your ramen noodles will go down swimmingly following my Cheese-O-Rama recipe.
It’s easy to invent your own ramen noodles recipes. Are there any poor souls out there who have combined ramen noodles with peanut butter and called it a meal? Reform, my friend, by combining ½ cup ramen noodles (half the package), ¼ cup dehydrated meat, and ¼ cup dehydrated vegetables. Boil in one cup of water for one minute, set your pot in an insulating POT COZY for ten minutes, and enter the Noodle Hall of Fame.

Vegetarian Ramen Noodles

Ingredients:

• ½ cup ramen noodles
• ¼ cup dehydrated black beans
• ¼ cup dehydrated vegetables- try French cut green beans, tomatoes, corn, and onions
• ½ cube vegetarian bouillon
• 1 cup water
  

At Home:


Pack the ½ bouillon cube in a 2 x 3 plastic bag or wrap in foil and enclose with other dry ingredients in a 4 x 6 plastic bag. I separate the bouillon because it has moisture that could migrate to the dry ingredients.


On the Trail:


Combine all ingredients with one cup water and soak for five minutes.
Light stove, bring to boil, and continue cooking for a minute.
Transfer pot to insulating cozy for ten minutes.

Ramen Noodles & Kraut

Ingredients:

• ½ cup ramen noodles
• ¼ cup dried mixed vegetables
• ¼ cup dried ground turkey or chicken
• 2 tbsp dried sauerkraut
• 1 cup water
  

At Home:


Use fresh sauerkraut found in the refrigerated section of your grocery store next to the sausage.
Dehydrate at 125° for approximately four to six hours until crispy.
Pack all dry ingredients in a 4 x 6 plastic bag.


On the Trail:


Follow same cooking procedure as Vegetarian Ramen Noodles.

Cheese-O-Rama

Ingredients:

• ½ cup ramen noodles
• ¼ cup dehydrated ham
• ¼ cup dehydrated peas
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp cheddar cheese powder
• 1 tbsp powdered milk
• Pinch crushed red pepper
• 1 cup water
  

At Home:


Combine and pack cheese powder and milk powder in a 2 x 3 plastic bag and enclose with other ingredients in a 4 x 6 plastic bag. I use the cheese powder from boxes of Annie’s or Back to Nature brands of macaroni and cheese. For milk powder, I use NIDO brand whole dry milk.


On the Trail:


Combine all ingredients except the cheese and milk powder in pot with one cup water and soak for five minutes.
Light stove, bring to a boil, and continue cooking for another minute.
Remove pot from stove, add cheese and milk power, and stir vigorously.
Cover pot and place in insulating cozy for ten minutes.

Ramen Noodles with Tomato Sauce

Let your noodles swim in a nice tomato sauce.

Pot Cozy

I let my meal sit for ten minutes after I remove it from the stove to finish rehydrating. Transferring the pot to a cozy holds in the heat so the meal stays nice and hot. Because I eat out of the pot, it’s nice to have the insulation around the hot pot so I can hold the pot in my hand or lap when there is no table.
The meal will continue to cook because of the retained heat, so a cozy saves fuel. For most meals, all you have to do is hit the boiling point, shut off the stove, and transfer the pot to the cozy. For pasta, maintain a boil for at least two minutes, but then the cozy will finish the job. 

You can make your own pot cozy with Reflectix™ material and some foil tape found in the insulation department of hardware stores. Reflectix™ is two layers of plastic bubbles sealed with reflective foil. The only problem is that you have to buy a whole roll which may be twenty-five feet long. This might make sense if you have some other insulation projects around the house, but an easier way to get cozy is to buy a cozy custom-made for your pot.

George, aka “Tin Man,” at Anti-Gravity Gear makes and sells custom-made pot cozies for just about every backpacking pot on the market including the Evernew™ ECA417 and ECA418 pots that I use now. The price is $8 up to $13, depending on your pot. Your pot will nest inside the cozy when packed and the cozy only weighs about an ounce.


Visit Anti-Gravity Gear Pot Cozy

Potato Bark

Snack on Potato Bark while hiking or turn your bark into mashed potatoes for the evening meal!


How to Make Potato Bark:

• 2 ½ lbs potatoes
• 16 ounces fat free vegetable, beef, or chicken broth
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Optional: Garlic Powder to taste
  
  
  Peel and boil 2 ½ pounds of potatoes until soft. Drain.
  Mash potatoes with 16 ounces of fat free vegetable, beef, or chicken broth. Because fats and dairy products don’t dehydrate well and can spoil, do not add any milk or butter. Add salt, if desired, but you’ll get some sodium from the broth.
  Run the mashed potatoes through a blender or mixer until creamy and lump-free.
  Cover dehydrator trays with non-stick sheets or parchment paper. I use Paraflexx® sheets which you can purchase directly from Excalibur Dehydrators. They clean-up easily and are reusable.
  Pour a six inch puddle of potatoes onto the covered tray and spread thinly (about an eighth inch) with a spatula. 2 ½ pounds of mashed potatoes will take up five 15 x 15 trays.
  Dehydrate at 135° for approximately eight hours until potatoes form a brittle sheet.
  If you have an Excalibur Dehydrator, use the “flip-trick” as follows to thoroughly dry the underside of the potato sheet: After about five hours of drying, place a dehydrator tray on top of the potato sheet and flip the two trays over so that the moister bottom side is facing up.
  The dried sheet of potatoes will easily snap into Bark or crush down for tighter packing.
  Yield: 2 ½ pounds of potatoes will dehydrate down to 5 ½ ounces and fill two cups when crushed.
  
  
  How to Make Barbecue Potato Bark:
  Follow the same preparations as above, but change the ingredients as follows:
  
  • 2 ½ lbs potatoes
  • 8 ounces fat free vegetable, beef, or chicken broth
  • 8 ounces Barbecue Sauce
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
    
    
    
  Make Delicious Backpacking Meals with Mashed Potatoes:
  Here are some of my favorite ingredients to combine with mashed potatoes:
  
  • Ground Turkey and Mixed Vegetables (corn, carrots, peas, green beans)
  • Ground Beef and Broccoli
  • Deli Ham and Green Beans
  • Ground Beef and Peppers, Onions, Mushrooms
    
    
    
    

    Mashed Potatoes with Meat and Vegetables

    
    Ingredients for One Serving:
    
    
    
    • ½ cup Potato Bark
    • ¼ cup Dehydrated Meat
    • ¼ cup Dehydrated Vegetables
    • 1¼ cup Water
    • Optional Seasonings- garlic powder, salt and pepper, dehydrated onion
      
    Increase quantities proportionally for larger servings.
    
    
    At Home:
    
    
    For more food dehydrating information, see DEHYDRATING MEAT and DEHYDRATING VEGETABLES.
    Crush Potato Bark into small pieces for tighter packing.
    Pack all ingredients in a zip lock bag.
    
    
    On the Trail:
    
    
    Combine all ingredients with water in pot. Cover pot and light stove.
    Bring to a boil, remove pot lid, and continue cooking for another minute. If the potatoes soak up most of the water after they start boiling, grasp the pot with a pot gripper and hold higher above the stove to prevent burning.
    Stir continuously once the water has been absorbed. You can add a few spoonfuls of water to make the potatoes easier to stir and less likely to burn.
    Remove pot from heat and wait ten minutes to give the meat and vegetables a little more time to soften. I use a pot cozy to keep the meal hot. Stir vigorously before eating if any of the bark has not dissolved. 
    
    
    
    

    BBQ Beef Stew

    
    
    
    Ingredients for One Serving:
    
    
    
    • ½ cup BBQ Potato Bark
    • ¼ cup Dehydrated Ground Beef
    • ¼ cup Dehydrated Okra and Corn or Green Beans
    • 1¼ cup Water
      
    Increase quantities proportionally for larger servings.
    Pack and cook the same as the recipe above.
    This meal reminds me a little of Brunswick Stew with the tangy barbecue flavor.
    
    
    
    

    Cheddar Mashed Potatoes

    
    
    
    Ingredients for One Serving:
    
    
    
    • 1 cup Potato Bark
    • 1 tbsp milk powder (Optional)
    • 1½ - 2 tbsp cheddar cheese powder (from a box of mac and cheese)
    • 1½ cups Water
    • Optional Seasonings- garlic powder, salt and pepper, dehydrated chives
      
      
      
    At Home:
    
    
    Crush Potato Bark into small pieces for tighter packing. Pack cheese and milk powders in a small plastic bag and enclose with potatoes in a zip lock bag.
    
    
    On the Trail:
    
    
    Combine potatoes with water in pot. Soak for five minutes. Light stove using low to medium flame.
    Cook until the potatoes are hot and have soaked up most of the water. If you are using an alcohol stove, grasp the pot with a pot gripper and hold higher above the flame to prevent burning once the potatoes have thickened.
    You can add a few more spoonfuls of water to make the potatoes easier to stir and less likely to burn if they get too thick.
    Stir in milk and cheese powders.
    I often cook a half portion of Cheddar Mashed Potatoes as a side to my main meal using my candle stove. It only takes fifteen minutes. 
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  

Bean Bark

Uses for Bean Bark:

• Stew
• Soup
• Spread
• Chips
  

How to Make Bean Bark:


Run a 28 ounce can of vegetarian baked beans through a blender until creamy. Use all the liquids from the can. Avoid using baked bean products containing bacon or pork because fatty meats will not dehydrate well and may spoil.
Pour puddles of blended beans on dehydrator trays covered with Paraflexx® sheets or parchment paper and spread thinly with a spatula. 28 ounces of blended beans takes up three 15 x 15 Excalibur Dehydrator trays.
Dry at 135° for eight hours. Unlike Potato Bark, which dries into a sheet, Bean Bark dries like mud… full of cracks. You can still use the “flip-trick” as described on other bark pages to thoroughly dry the bottom side of the bark.
Yield: 28 ounces of beans will bark down to three cups weighing seven ounces.
Variations: Bark other types of canned beans such as black beans, red beans, and kidney beans. Follow the steps above.


Recipes:

Bean Bark Stew

Ingredients:

• ½ cup Bean Bark
• ½ cup Instant Brown Rice
• ¼ cup Dehydrated Mixed Vegetables (carrots, corn, peas, and green beans)
• ¼ Dehydrated Ground Beef
• 1 cup water
  

Variation: Beanie-Weenie Stew. Add Franks & Beans to your homemade backpacking food list. Just substitute dehydrated hot dog slices for ground beef. Because hot dogs are generally high in fat, you’ll have to blot off beads of grease with a paper towel throughout the drying process. Storing dehydrated hot dogs long term is not a good idea, but you’ll be fine if you use them within a week or two. Go for 100% beef franks, not pork dogs, as pork is never recommended for dehydrating. To dehydrate hot dogs, cut into ¼ inch slices and dry at 135° for approximately eight hours to the pliability of a Slim Jim.


At Home:


For more information about drying ground beef and vegetables, see DEHYDRATING MEAT and DEHYDRATING VEGETABLES.
Pack all dry ingredients in a 4 x 6 plastic bag.


On the Trail:


Combine all ingredients with water in pot, cover, and light stove.
Bring to a boil and cook for an additional minute or two. Total cook time using my homemade alcohol backpacking stove is seven to eight minutes.
Remove from stove and transfer pot to insulating cozy for another five or ten minutes.
Stir briskly before eating and the bark will dissolve into tasty gravy.

Bean Bark Soup

Ingredients:

• ½ cup Bean Bark
• ¼ cup Instant Rice or Dehydrated Diced Potatoes
• ¼ cup Dehydrated Mixed Vegetables
• ¼ cup Dehydrated Ground Beef or Hot Dog Slices
• 1 ¼ cup Water
  

At Home and On the Trail:


Follow the same directions as Bean Bark Stew. Bark dissolves in hot water with a little spirited stirring.

Bean Bark Spread

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Bean Bark
• 1/3 cup water
  

On the Trail:
Combine Bark with water in pot, light stove. When water starts to get hot, begin stirring until the mixture gets pasty. Three or four minutes of heating should do the trick. Be prepared to lift the pot off the stove with a pot gripper to prevent burning. Spread on pita bread or use as a dip for freeze-dried vegetable chips. 

Sweet Potato Bark

Sweet Potato Bark is a favorite hiking snack. It is delicious and chewy with a hint of cinnamon, but is also a good source of fiber, potassium, and vitamin A. It can also be turned back into mashed sweet potatoes for a hearty backpacking meal.

How to make Sweet Potato Bark:
Peel a large sweet potato and cut into chunks.
Boil until soft and mash.
Stir in ½ cup apple juice, three tablespoons maple syrup, and a half teaspoon each of cinnamon and nutmeg.
Run the mashed sweet potatoes through a blender or mixer until creamy and lump-free.

Cover dehydrator trays with non-stick Paraflexx® sheets or parchment paper. If you are using an Excalibur dehydrator, Paraflexx® sheets are the way to go because they are the same size as the dehydrator trays and are reuseable. Paraflexx® sheets can be cut down to fit round dehydrators.
Pour a six inch wide puddle of blended sweet potatoes onto covered dehydrator trays and spread thinly with a spatula. Shoot for eighth inch thickness. If you spread the potatoes thicker, they will take longer to dry.
Dehydrate at 135° for eight to ten hours. The potatoes will form a sheet with cracks running through it. The bottom side will dry slower than the top. If you own an Excalibur Dehydrator, you can use the "flip trick." After about five hours of drying, place a dehydrator tray on top of the potato sheet and flip the two trays over so that the bottom side of the potato sheet is facing up. When sufficiently dry, the potato sheet will easily snap into Bark. Continue drying if the potato sheet bends rather than breaks.

Yield: One large sweet potato will yield ¾ cup of Bark and weigh 2 ½ ounces. Increase the ingredients proportionately for larger batches.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients for One Serving:

• 1 cup Sweet Potato Chips
• 1 cup Water plus 2 or 3 Tablespoons
• Optional: Raisins and/or Mini-Marshmallows
  

At Home:
Pack potatoes in a zip lock bag. Pack raisins separately because of their high moisture content.


On the Trail:
Combine potatoes and water in pot and heat over low flame, stirring continuously. It is not necessary to boil. Add a few tablespoons more water if the potatoes get too thick.
Optional: Marshmallow Sauce. If you can’t imagine mashed sweet potatoes without marshmallows, simply garnish with mini-marshmallows or make a marshmallow sauce. To make marshmallow sauce, combine ½ cup mini-marshmallows with one tablespoon of water in your pot. Heat gently while stirring continuously. Marshmallows will melt into sauce. I tried this out of curiosity, but decided it was too sweet for me.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes & Corn

This meal is good for breakfast or supper. Use dried deli ham instead of raisins for a higher protein meal.

Ingredients for One Serving:

• ½ cup Sweet Potato Bark, tightly packed
• ½ cup Dehydrated Corn
• ¼ cup Raisins or Dried Ham
• 1¼ cup Water
  

At Home:
Crush Sweet Potato Bark into small pieces for tighter packing. Pack raisins in a 3 x 5 plastic bag and enclose with Sweet Potato Bark and corn in a zip lock bag.


On the Trail:
Combine all ingredients with water in pot and soak for five minutes. Light stove and heat over low to medium flame for five to seven minutes. It is not necessary to boil. If the potatoes soak up most of the water, add a few spoonfuls of water to make them easier to stir and less likely to burn.
If using an alcohol stove, grasp the pot with a pot gripper and hold higher above the flame to prevent burning once the sweet potatoes have thickened.
Remove pot from heat and wait ten minutes to give the corn and ham, if you are using ham, a little more time to soften. I use a pot cozy to keep the meal hot.

Sweet Potato Apple Crunch

This meal makes a delicious, high-energy breakfast or a tasty dessert for after supper.


Ingredients for One Serving:

• ½ cup Sweet Potato Bark, tightly packed
• ½ cup Dehydrated Apples
• ¼ cup Raisins
• ¼ - ½ cup Granola
• 1¼ cup Water
  

At Home:
Crush Sweet Potato Bark into small pieces for tighter packing. Pack raisins and granola in separate small plastic bags and enclose with Sweet Potato Bark and apples in a zip lock bag.


On the Trail:
Combine all ingredients except granola with water in pot and soak for five minutes. Light stove and heat over low to medium flame for five to seven minutes. It is not necessary to boil. If the potatoes soak up most of the water, add a few spoonfuls of water to prevent burning.
If using an alcohol stove, grasp the pot with a pot gripper and hold higher above the flame to prevent burning once the sweet potatoes have thickened.
Remove pot from heat and wait ten minutes to give the apples a little more time to rehydrate. Stir in granola just before eating.

Oatmeal Recipes

These homemade oatmeal recipes pack a lot more fruit than the instant oatmeal packets you buy at the store. It amazes me that most of the little pieces in store-bought oatmeal packages, wistfully referred to as fruit, are artificial. For Apple Cinnamon Crunch, I stock up on locally grown apples in the fall and crank up the dehydrator.
For a boost of 75 calories, try these oatmeal recipes with milk. Combine two tablespoons of instant dry whole milk with ½ cup of water and stir. I usually pour about half the milk over the oatmeal and drink the rest.
When preparing these oatmeal recipes, keep an eye on the pot and stir frequently. Once the water gets absorbed, you’ll need to remove the pot from the stove. Instant oatmeal cooks up easier than old fashioned oatmeal, but you sacrifice a little of the nutritional value if you go that route. For instant oatmeal, bring the fruit to a boil first and then add the instant oatmeal. Cook for about a minute and remove pot from stove.

Apple Cinnamon Crunch Oatmeal
Ingredients:

• ½ cup old fashioned oatmeal
• ¼ cup apple slices, dried
• 1 tsp sugar or more if desired
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ cup raisins
• ¼ cup granola cereal
• 1¼ cups water
  

Milk Option:

• 2 tbsp instant dry whole milk
• ½ cup water
  
  
  
  At Home:
  For more information about dehydrating apples, see DEHYDRATING FRUIT.
  Place oats, apples, sugar, and cinnamon in a 4 x 6 plastic bag. Place granola cereal in a 3 x 5 plastic bag and raisins in another 3 x 5 plastic bag. Enclose the two smaller bags inside the 4 x 6 bag with the other ingredients. I package the raisins separately because I don’t want the moisture from the raisins migrating into the other ingredients.
  If you plan on serving milk over your oatmeal, pack two tablespoons of dry milk in a 2 x 3 plastic bag.
  On the Trail:
  Combine all ingredients except granola cereal with 1¼ cups water. Bring to a boil and continue cooking for a minute or two. Stir frequently and reduce flame to prevent the oatmeal from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
  Place pot inside insulating cozy for a couple of minutes to let the flavors mingle a little longer.
  Prior to serving, top with granola cereal. Mix milk separately.
  
  
  
  
  Oatmeal with Fruit and Dark Chocolate
  
  
  
  Ingredients:
  
  
  
  • ½ cup old fashioned oatmeal
  • ½ cup dehydrated fruit. The photo shows banana, pineapple, mango, and shredded coconut with dark chocolate chips. Try bananas with strawberries and blueberries or peaches.
  • 1 tsp sugar or more if desired
  • ¼ cup Almond and Dark Chocolate granola cereal (Cascadian Farm) or any granola with added chocolate pieces if desired.
  • 1¼ cups water
    
  Milk Option:
  
  • 2 tbsp instant dry whole milk
  • ½ cup water
    
  
  
  
  At Home:
  Place oats, dehydrated fruit, and sugar in a 4 x 6 plastic bag. Place granola cereal in a 3 x 5 plastic bag and enclose inside the 4 x 6 bag with the other ingredients.
  If you plan on serving milk over your oatmeal, pack two tablespoons of dry milk in a 2 x 3 plastic bag.
  
  
  On the Trail:
  Prepare in same manner as Apple Cinnamon Crunch.